Conservation Scientist and Forester Job Description

conservation scientists Conservation scientist essential career information:

2011 median pay: $61,100
2011, number of jobs: 18,460
Employment growth forecast, 2010-2020: 5 percent
Entry-level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree

Forester essential career information:

2011 median pay: $55,950
2011, number of jobs: 9,470
Employment growth forecast, 2010-2020: 5 percent
Entry-level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree

Conservation scientists and foresters; what they do:

Conservation scientists and foresters have an irreplaceably important job; they keep our forests, parks, rangelands, and other natural resources healthy and protected to ensure they continue on into the future.

Conservation scientist careers and forester careers include creating the management plans for forest lands and resources, as well as ensuring forestry and conservation activities comply with government regulations.

Conservation scientists and foresters work together to evaluate forest and soil quality, assess forest damage from logging and fires, and work on fire suppression.

Conservation scientists focus on protecting, maintaining, and improving the overall health of natural resources. They most commonly work with landowners, federal, state, and local governments. A conservation scientist career includes advising farmers, farm managers, and ranchers on how to control erosion and improve their land for conservation purposes.

Foresters may do anything from developing plans to regenerate forested lands and supervising tree harvests to devising ways to protect forests from disease, parasitic insects, and harmful wildfires.

Foresters are experts in when, where, and how far apart to plant new trees in a reforesting project, as well as how to determine which trees to sell to sawmills and which trees can be removed with minimal environmental damage.

Conservation scientists and foresters may specialize in one of the following: procurement forester, urban forester, conservation education forester, range manager, soil and water conservationists.
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Conservation scientists and foresters job titles:

Area Forester
Fire Prevention Forester
Chief Unit Forester
Environmental Protection Forester
Regional Forester
Resource Forester
Service Forester
Urban Forester

Conservation Scientists and Foresters Education, Certification and License Requirements

Conservation scientist careers and forester careers sometimes begin with a Bachelor of Forestry degree from a program accredited by the Society of American Foresters. Other degrees that relate to these professions include a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree, a Bachelor of Rangeland Management degree, or a Bachelor of Environmental Science degree.

Conservation scientist and forester programs cover subjects such as:

Ecology
Biology
Forest resource management
Geographic information system (GIS) technology
Computer modeling

Foresters have some type of credentialing process in some states. Alabama, California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire have specific licensing laws, while Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina have registration laws.

Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and West Virginia have voluntary registration laws for foresters.
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Career Advancement Opportunities

environmental protection forester Conservation scientists and foresters may advance in their career to managerial duties or conduct research or work on policy issues. An advanced degree helps conservation scientists and foresters advance in their career.

Certification, such as provided by the Society of American Foresters or the Society for Range Management helps a conservation scientist or a forester advance in their career.

Conservation Scientists and Foresters Job Outlook

Forecast: five percent employment growth from 2010 to 2020 for conservation scientists and foresters, much slower than the average for all occupations.

A heightened demand for American timber and wood pellets increases the demand for services from conservation scientists and foresters. A lot of the job growth for conservation scientists and foresters comes from federally owned forestlands.

An increased concern from government agencies in managing and preventing forest fires leads to new programs, creating more jobs for foresters.

Restoring lands affected by fires increases the demand for the services of foresters and conservation scientists.

Conservation Scientists Salary

2011 median annual wage: $61,100
2011, workers at the 75th percentile annual wage: $74,930
2011, workers at the 25% percentile annual wage: $47,450

Foresters Salary

2011 median annual wage: $55,950
2011, workers at the 75th percentile annual wage: $68,060
2011, workers at the 25% percentile annual wage: $44,850

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Conservation Scientist and Forester Major Employers

fire prevention foresters

Federal government
State government
Local government
Social advocacy organizations
Sawmills and wood preservation
Logging companies
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services